Strong female characters in movies have come a long way, but there are still some things that we just don’t see very often. A young heroine can be thoughtful, fight crime or both, but she’s usually single, or at the very least childless. The mothers and grandmothers usually just get to be thoughtful, go soul-searching or get rescued. It’s the rare female character who performs the impossible task of saving the world AND raising a kid — as if both of them weren’t feats of heroism already! In honor of Mother’s Day, we take a look at movie moms who get it done.

(Photo Credit: Walt Disney Home Entertainment)

Helen Parr (Elastigirl) – The Incredibles

Pixar has received some flack in the past for not making movies with a female lead. But they definitely didn’t make Helen Parr, the supermom in The Incredibles, anything less than amazing. While raising three kids and fighting to keep a marriage together, Helen does detective work and pulls off a daring rescue. And all the while, she keeps her fingers crossed that the babysitter knows what she’s doing.

(Photo Credit: Live / Artisan)

Sarah Connor – Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Poor Sarah Connor has a rough start in Terminator 2. Committed to an asylum, she is thought to be crazy, even by her son. All she was trying to do was stop the evil computer network that would eventually try to kill him — hardly helicopter parenting! Once she’s finally out and the Terminators start appearing, this mom fights tooth and nail for her son (even when he’s kind of a brat).

(Photo Credit: Miramax)

The Bride – Kill Bill

It’s safe to say that Uma Thurman played one of the most powerful women on screen in cinema history. If you haven’t seen Kill Bill: Volume 1and 2, you might want to skip ahead right here. If you have or don’t mind plot spoilers, then it’s safe to say that it was all just for vengeance… at first. Beatrix Kiddo (The Bride) only found out about her child as she was preparing to get her final revenge — which just happened to be against her baby’s father. Sometimes, love is complicated…

(Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox)

Ellen Ripley – Aliens

Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, in Aliens, may not be the biological mother of the young girl she encounters on LV-426. But that doesn’t stop her maternal instincts from kicking into overdrive when young Newt is the last survivor of the doomed space colony. And Sigourney Weaver’s rescue of the girl — along with her exo-suit fight with the Alien Queen — is one of the most powerful scenes of maternal love you’ll ever see in a mainstream science fiction movie, or any movie, period.

Your Mom

Everyone’s mom is unique. But there’s a pretty good chance she sacrificed more than you can even dream of to bring you into this world and keep you here. Maybe she didn’t use a rocket launcher or karate chop anyone (although she could have!), but rest assured she performed plenty of other feats of superhuman strength and will. The very least you can do is give her some of your love on Mother’s Day.